Tristan Warner becomes the first student-athlete in school history to win the very prestigous Elite 89 Award

ODU Sports

Tristan Warner Wins Elite 89 Award For NCAA Division I Wrestling

March 21, 2014
By ODU Athletics

NORFOLK, Va. - Tristan Warner, a 157-pound redshirt junior at Old Dominion University from Mechanicsburg, PA., has been named the sole recipient of the prestigious Elite 89 Award for the 2014 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship.

Warner is a communications major and currently carries a 3.97 GPA. He was presented the award before the start of the fourth session at the NCAA Wrestling Championships on Friday evening in Oklahoma City, Okla. He is Old Dominion University's first ever recipient of the Elite 89 Award.

“Tristan is the epitome of a student-athlete and is very deserving of this prestigious award,” stated Old Dominion head coach Steve Martin. “This award proves ODU Athletics’ commitment to academic excellence. This could not have been achieved without the help from our academic advisors who have been absolutely tremendous.”

The Elite 89, an award founded by the NCAA, recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. The Elite 89 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA’s championships.

“As outstanding a wrestler Tristan is, he is an even better academic performer and exemplifies the term 'student athlete'," said Old Dominion Athletic Director Dr. Wood Selig. "We are exceptionally proud of how hard he has worked both on and off the mat. Tristan's performance is indicative of the academic culture Head Coach Steve Martin has created with our wrestling program, as the team combined to post a 3.0 overall GPA for the fall semester."

Eligible student-athletes are sophomores or above who have participated in their sport for at least two years with their school. They must be an active member of the team, traveling and a designated member of the squad size at the championship. All ties are broken by the number of credits completed.

It is evident how serious academics are taken within the program as last year, Steve Martin guided his Old Dominion University wrestling program to the No. 8 highest G.P.A. in the nation; while in 2011, Martin’s Monarchs’ G.P.A. ranked No. 5 out of every wrestling program in the country.